OBJECTIVETo study the correlation between essential elements of Chinese medicine syndrome (EECMS) and the lung function in patients with acute aggravating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AACOPD).

METHODSAdopting clinical epidemiological method, the Chinese medicine syndrome of 199 AACOPD patients with various grades of the lung function was differentiated, and EECMS in them were picked up, summarized and analyzed statistically.

RESULTSAlong with the deteriorating of the lung ventilation, the EECMS of disease-position was progressed correspondingly, i.e. in patients with lung function of grade I, disease was positioned mainly on Fei (88.89%); in patients of grade II, on Fei-Shen (25.97%), Fei-Pi (9.09%), and Fei-Gan (3.90%); in those of grade III, on Fei-Shen (51.32%), Fei-Pi (7.89%), Fei-Pi-Shen (19.74%), and Fei-Pi-Shen-Xin (2.63%); in those of grade IV: on Fei-Shen (56.76%), Fei-Pi-Shen (27.03%). The EECMS of disease-property was also progressed, that for excessive syndromes were disposed as: grade I - II, phlegm (23.76%); grade III: phlegm-heat (30.26%), phlegm-stasis (15.79%), and phlegm-retention (9.21%); grade IV: phlegm-stasis (24.32%), phlegm-heat-stasis (29.73%), phlegm-retention-stasis (2.70%); and for deficiency syndromes were arranged as qi-deficiency --> qi-yin deficiency --> qi-yang deficiency --> qi-yin-yang deficiency.

CONCLUSIONThe lung function could be taken as the objective and quantitative index for the progression of Chinese medicine syndromes in patients with AACOPD.